1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally directed to the field of bookshelves for children's books and more particularly to a book organizer unit which functions both as a wall display as well as a child's learning center. The invention further relates to an organizer unit for books which includes a plurality of pockets having varying configurations in which books having similar configurations are retained. The storage unit functions as a shelf or display stand which neatly displays books of interest to a child and which also stimulates a child's interest in replacing books which have been removed by creating a puzzle-like display wherein the books can be matched with the configuration of the pockets thus functioning as a child's learning center as well as a shelving unit.
2. Brief Discussion of the Related Art
The early development of a child's reading habits can be extremely beneficial in the child's learning and understanding capabilities. In this respect, numerous books have been published to capture the imagination of different age groups of children in order to stimulate their desire to handle, play with and eventually read the material of such books. To make books appear more interesting, it has been known to configure the shape of books to resemble different animate and inanimate objects, such that the books function both as a toy as well as reading material.
Another manner in which to stimulate a child's interest in reading materials is to provide for a proper display of such materials. There have been a number of innovations made which are directed to providing shelving or bookcases particularly adapted for use in displaying children's books. By way of example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,256 to Correll-Antoun, a child's book stand is disclosed which is particularly constructed so as to display the front cover portion of the books support thereon to children in order to stimulate their interest to select books from the stand. Although the book stand disclosed in the patent facilitates a child's selecting a book from the stand, there is no other interaction created between the stand and the child and, thus, once a book is selected from the stand, there is nothing related to the shelf which draws the attention of a child with the exception of selecting other books. In many instances a child may select a number of books from such a display stand and not replace the books, thereby requiring an adult to replace books which have been removed so that the books will again be displayed to stimulate the interest of the same or another child.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need to provide for a display stand or other storage unit for use with children's books which not only stimulates a child's desire to select books, but also which functions as an interactive teaching resource for further developing a child's mind. Also, there is a need to provide a bookcase or book display unit which also functions to encourage the replacement of books by children once the have finished utilizing a book such that books associated with the display unit are normally readily available for selection, not only to one child, but to several children in a room or in a learning area. An example of display for use with children's toys and which is designed to stimulate a child's interest in returning toys to a storage area is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,543,278 to Ackerman.